One Lil' Gal
by Ramona Bandicoot
Summary: When pulling off a heist with Carmelita to save Sly and the gang from Toothpick in the Old West, Tennessee is reminded of one special lil' gal. -Oneshot-


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_I know that is been a SUPER long time since I've posted anything here or on my DA page. I've found myself to be over scheduled with college work and home life and haven't really found time to write anything. But, this is a story I wrote back sometime in March that I found on my flash drive a day or so ago. I found it after I opened the flies I've been using to write my two requests (which I've almost completed both of them so they should be up soon and that I promise I haven't forgotten!) and decided to post this as a reminder that I haven't quit writing or anything of the sort. I decided to write this after playing through Sly 4 for the second or third time and it dawned on me that Tennessee's in the game made me think of an OC of mine. And thus…this idea was born! It is super long for a oneshot, over 6,000 words, but I didn't feel like splitting it in half so it's going to remain as one story. But in any case, I do want to apologize for my absence and I hope that I can get back into writing often. And I still have my poll open on my profile so please help me with that so I know what to start working on after I've completed my requests. Anyway, I'm super sorry my quiet period so please read, review, and let me know what you think! Thanks!_

One Lil' Gal

I stood at the dock to the river, casually leanin' on the railing and the butt of my shotgun. The hot, late New Mexican sun beat down on me from above, givin' everything an orange-yellow haze to it. I sighed, removing my hat from my head and wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my gloved paw. I'd been standin' at the river side for a good half hour, still waiting on Miss Carmelita to make her way down here with the river boat. Which I found to be rather odd myself; me waiting on a lady to arrive with the transportation, but Miss Carmelita insisted that she was to be the one to get the boat and from lookin' at her gun, I wasn't about to argue with her. But speaking of odd things, this entire day had been odd. Not only had I been framed by that no good "sheriff" and thrown in prison for a crime I hadn't committed…yet, but I was rescued from prison from a distant relative of mine; from the future, I might add! Somethin' about time travel or some such nonsense; none of it made any real sense to me anyways. However odd it was, I went along with it and now my family member and his team were thrown in prison themselves and now it was time for me to bust 'em out.

My ears perked and I tilted the brim of my hat up when I heard the slapping noise of the paddle boat comin' down the river. I pushed myself up off the dock raining and grabbed my gun fully in my paw. I made my way to the edge of the dock just as Miss Carmelita stopped the boat in front of it. She didn't look to happy herself and from what I could tell, she was mighty upset with Sly. She looked up to me with a roll of her eyes and a flick of her hair, waitin' on me to say somethin'.

"This river is dangerous," I said after a brief moment of silence, "but it leads back to the prison. The way I figure it, they won't be expectin' us to come this way. Are you sure you're up to this Miss Fox?" the fox glared her eyes for a minute, leaning forward with a paw on the hip with a not-so-happy look on her face.

"Uhh, that's _Inspector _Fox, but just call me Carmelita. Thanks for the rescue, by the way." Her mood softened as she thanked me, her eyes darting down briefly.

"My pleasure," I said with a slight chuckle, "Inspector? You some kind of sheriff? How'd you get mixed up with Sly?" I scratched my head underneath my hat; the dried sweat had started to irritate my skin underneath my fur.

"It's a long, complicated story. Right now I need to rescue that Ringtail. So I can wring his neck!" she growled her last sentence, clenching her fist shut tightly as she mentioned Sly.

"Hoowee you are feisty! You remind me of this one lil' gal-" I kept my mouth open to tell her a quick story, but the hot tempered fox cut me off before I could finish.

"So, what's this prison like anyway?" she asked, completely ignorin' what I said.

"Well, it's got plenty of fire; for starters." I shrugged, not really knowing how to explain it to her. It was just an average old prison I suppose.

"Excellent…let's get going." She sauntered off to the front of the raft as I made my way to the hand push, ready to get this boat movin' down the river. I started the movin' the boat by firmly pushing against the handle, then pulling it up to get the paddle started. I repeated this motion, over n' over again 'til I had a steady motion goin', then I was able to let up on the strength a bit.

As Miss Carmelita and I traveled down the river in silence, waiting for the action to start, my mind went to wonderin' about that "one lil' gal" I was about to talk about. And I was certainly tellin' the truth about her, she was certainly one gal someone would remember and someone that I would never forget for as long as I lived. She was feisty, like Miss Carmelita, and had a quick temper about her, ready to pull her guns out and shoot them on the spot if someone gave her a wrong look while on their way to Sunday service. That one little gal wasn't like most of the women around her neither. She smoked cigars, most often to where the smoke would hit you in the face, and was known to down a bottle of whiskey in an evening. She was a mean card shark and quite the thief as well, which is how I met her in the first place. But, aside from her rough exterior and quick temper, that one, special lil' gal also had a soft side and quiet the cute personality once you got to know her like I had. We'd sit in the local saloon most nights, sharin' a bottle of whiskey, or whatever was on tap, chain smoking cigars and just a-talkin' and a-talkin' 'til the mornin' sun came up. However, I didn't see that gal anymore and I never would, must to my dismay and almost broken heart…because I truly loved that lil' gal, with everything I had to my name and all my heart. That special gal, or I should say Miss May Ella Bandicoot, was the woman I'd always dreamed of marryin' one day when I was good and ready, but that wasn't goin' to happen now.

"Miss Carmelita, you didn't forget how to use that pistol, did you?" I called from the stern of the boat as we started entering the shootout zone. The female simple shot me an annoyed glare before bringin' her gun up and started to fire off rounds. While Miss Carmelita handled the shooting, I steered the boat down the river, avoidin' any explosives or rocks. As I pushed and pulled the hand crank, I got to thinkin' more and more about Miss May Ella. I felt my mind start to wander, tunin' out the gun fire and yells from local guards, and I pictured that fast shootin' raccoon and some of the past endeavors we'd encountered together…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I clutched the reigns of my horse tightly, slappin' the spurs of my boots into its sides as I gain speed on the train chuggin' ahead of me. There was a hefty load of gold on that train, which was on its way to deliver said gold to the bank in the next town over, and I had my eyes set on it. I rode my horse at top speed tryin' to catch the train before it got too far ahead. I could feel the hot, desert air beat across my face as I came close to catching up, sand sprinklin' in my eyes if I turned my head a certain way. The constant thud of my horse's hooves on the hot dirt became lost under the constant, almost deafening chuggin' of the train as I caught up to it. I rode my horse on the right side of the tracks, the sun directly over me, as I pulled out my shotgun, ready to aim and fire the lock off the back door so I could slip in and steal the gold inside. Before I could do so, I ducked, clutchin' my hat to my head as the crack of another pistol fired behind me. I noticed the bullet bounce off the lock to the door, lettin' it fling open with the wind. Still holdin' the reigns, I looked behind me, curious as to who had fired.

"Now Miss May Ella," I called behind me, "this here is my train!" I smiled as I watched the raccoon, who still had one of her two guns in her grasp, ride up beside me.

"It ain't your train if I get inside it first, Kid!" she called from the other side of the tracks with a smile on her face. By this time she had caught up with me, and was actually startin' to get ahead of me. After shovin' her gun back in its holster, May Ella let go of the reigns. With a great amount of talent, she got her boots from the stirrups, jumpin' up quickly and lettin' 'em land in the seat of her saddle. Before she really had the chance to keep her balance in her seat, Miss May Ella had jumped from the saddle to the back of the train, dustin' off her outfit as she did so. Seein' what she was up to, I pulled my horse to the edge of the train, leapin' onto the caboose platform to catch up with the fast movin' thief. She had already snuck into the train, through the door that had very recently lost its lock, and slammed it in my face before I even made it onto the train. I grabbed the door handle with my paw, tryin' to twist it open, but found out that May Ella, who was already on the other side, was holdin' it closed.

"Don't you find it mighty unfair that I had my eyes set on this train long before you did, yet you're the one inside?" I said to her from the outside. I wasn't upset with her in any way, I just liked to yank her chain every one in a while.

"Not one bit, Kid!" granted…how much yankin' actually had an affect on her was a different story, "You should-a been faster!" she smiled, easily playin' along. I tried to twist the door open again, still findin' it 'locked' and I pointed to it with a finger.

"Can't you just let me in Miss May Ella?" she shook her head with the same, wide smile. She had a playful twinkle in her soft blue eyes and I knew that this was goin' to be a long train robbery.

"Can't you just go kiss the seat of my saddle?" she called through the glass. She followed up her comment by pressing her lips to the glass of the door between us, lingerin' for only a moment to give it a quick kiss, hintin' at what she had just said. When she pulled away, there was the very noticeable stain of her red lipstick on the glass, mapped out in the form of her soft, pretty lips. When I finally managed to get the door open, May Ella had already made her way to the next train car.

May Ella Bandicoot was an interestin' gal. She only called me Kid; the only time she called me Tennessee was when she was serious about somethin'. She was also from the South, not the West. A born and raised Virginian, May Ella's twangy, southern accent was somethin' that easily signaled her as an outsider. She was also a peculiar looking gal at that. Bein' about ten inches over five feet, May Ella was incredibly tall for a lady and she certainly didn't dress like one. May Ella wore pants most of the time along with dust covered boots, a shirt too small for a man yet too big for a lady, thick leather gloves, and a hat that hid her face. Anyone that looked at her could easily mistake her for a man; which has happened on more than one occasion. However, those fellas quickly learned that they were mistake when they came snout to muzzle with one, sometimes both, with Miss May Ella's signature revolvers. She never let a sole touch her trusty guns, not even me, and despite their constant use. They were solid silver with not a single scratch on them and always so shiny you could wave at yourself when you looked in 'em…if you ever got that close, that is.

After makin' my way through the car and had opened the door to the opposite side, I noticed that May Ella was already on the top of the car ahead. I leapt to the car in front of me and climbed my way to the roof, ready to talk my way into stealin' the gold I'd set my eyes on. Haulin' myself up onto the roof, I looked around, tryin' to figure out where Miss May Ella had gone. But, like the dust on a cowboy's boots after he's kicked them off, she was gone. Worried that she might have fallen off, I looked over the edge on all sides of the train car to see if I could see where the thief had gone. Her horse galloped beside the train, the saddle completely empty, and May Ella wasn't there. Standin' up, I started to head for the third car from the back, hopin' that she had just slipped ahead quicker than I had thought. Actually, it wouldn't be a surprise if she did. May Ella was known for her speed during a heist. She could enter a bank, rob it of every gold coin it possessed, and get away without a trace before the sheriff and his posse had even slipped their boots on.

Relief rushed over me when I heard the crack of a pistol and noticed that one of the guards on the train had suddenly fallen overboard. Craning my neck to see what was happenin', I noticed that May Ella, who was already near the engine of the train, was makin' her way to the roof with the gold already in her possession! She used one paw to climb her way to the roof while the other was slung over her back, holding two sacks of heavy gold coins in each. I quickly made my way to the car she was standin' on, ready to start negotiatin' for a bag of gold.

"I told ya, Kid," May Ella cooed as I finally reached her car, "You should-a been faster." I put my paws up in a false surrender, chucklin' as I came face to face with the gun slinging raccoon.

"In all fairness Miss May Ella, you could-a waited for me to at least get inside the train before you tried to make off with the loot." She rolled her eyes with a smile, tossin' one of her bags of gold down to her horse.

"What are you getting' at Kid? You tryin' to ask me for a cut of the gold?" she asked as she slung the remainin' bag of gold back over her shoulder.

"Well I only consider it fair, Miss. How about we split it down the middle? You get one bag and I get the other. After all, you do have a nasty habit of sneakin' a look at my plans to see what I'm robbing next." May Ella spat a laugh, shakin' her head as she did so.

"You get me a reasonable negotiation and I _might_ consider givin' you some of my gold." She was tough to negotiate, and most of the time I would end up losing, but I figured it was worth a try.

"Then how about sixty-forty?" she squinted her eyes slightly, thinkin', before shakin' her head, "No? Then why don't we settle for seventy-thirty. That's more than reasonable, Miss May Ella." She laughed, reachin' into her pocket. May Ella pulled out a gold coin and placed it on top of her thumb, ready to flip it. At first I thought she was goin' to flip a coin to see which offer she would take, but instead May Ella flicked the coin to me. I caught it in my paws, lookin' over it briefly before givin' her a questionable look.

"Ninety nine-one." She said with a smile. Before I had the change to rebut her argument, she tossed the other bag of gold down to her horse and jumped from the train. I quickly made my way to the edge of the train, lookin' at May Ella. Her foot caught the stirrup of her saddle and she managed to pull herself up on top of her horse in one swift movement. Pullin' on the reigns, she halted her horse with a large smile on her face.

"Now that's a reasonable negotiation, Kid!" she laughed, waving goodbye with her free paw. I sighed, lookin' at the one coin I'd received from this job and smiled. I knew I wasn't goin' to get any gold, of decent amounts that is, if she had gotten before me. But, it was always a pleasure to have Miss May Ella look my way, even if it involved me getting' nothin' from a job when…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Keep this boat steady, Tennessee!" Miss Carmelita's voice shook me from my day dream, makin' me realize I was steerin' the boat too close to the rocks. I quickly corrected myself, getting' the boat back on track to she could shoot. I hadn't realized I'd been so focused on my memory of Miss May Ella. I'd completely tuned out the shootin' goin' an around me and even concentration on what I was doin' with the boat. I found myself doin' that quite often, however. There wasn't a day that passed that I didn't think of Miss May Ella. I'd been over a year since I'd last seen her, soon after Sheriff Toothpick had entered town, as a matter of fact. May Ella wasn't fond of this new sheriff and had gone to me on many occasions about the issue. She always asked me if I'd seen the sheriff, if I'd heard any news on the bounty he'd placed on her head, if I new what would happen to her if she was arrested by Toothpick. She was afraid of him, plain and simple. She had gotten so afraid of him that she wouldn't stay in town anymore. And if she did, she'd go straight to the saloon and be extremely cautious when she left. Keepin' the boat steady, I found myself startin' to go back to wonderin' about the first time May Ella came to me about Toothpick…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I stretched myself at the front doors to the saloon, enterin' with a yawn. I planned on havin' a drink or two inside before headin' off to my home and callin' it a night. The sun was just about to set when I entered the saloon and for the moment, it was pretty empty. The only people inside, other than myself, were a bartender and the usual drunk who was here most evenin's. The crowd didn't usually get here until half-past eight, which wasn't for another hour or so. Bein' a wanted criminal, I usually went to the second bar in the saloon, the one in the back. It was almost always empty and I had time to myself without the threat of being caught. I stepped through the second set of double doors in the saloon and entered the bar silently. When I was fully inside, I noticed that there would be someone else joinin' me.

"Miss May Ella?" I called out to the raccoon, who was hunched over the bar, pressin' a rag to her palm. She looked up, her blue eyes meeting mine as she did so, and she motioned to the seat next to her with her nose.

"Don't go worryin' about me," she said after I had seated myself and continued to look at the rag, "I just have a bit of leather burn, that's all." She had her canteen open on the counter sittin' next to a pile of wet rags, her gloves, hat, two glasses, and a bottle of whiskey. She had her sleeves rolled up past her elbows and her sandy, blonde hair was in its usual braid that fell down her back. From the way she looked, she'd been sittin' here for quite some time.

"Now how did you manage to get leather burn?" I asked after she had smiled at me and reached for her canteen.

"Somethin' spooked my horse this afternoon, probably a rattler or somethin', and she took off. I grabbed the reigns, but the leather slid in my palm so fast it cut right through my gloves. I tried wrappin' it earlier but it's mighty hard to do with just one paw." I took May Ella's wrist without a word and removed the rag she had placed on her burn. Her palm was awfully red and was already startin' to blister.

"You need to see the doc about this?" I asked after takin' a good, long look at the burn. May Ella simply shook her head as a reply. I took the rag and started to wrap it around her palm, hopin' it would ease some of the pain it was givin' her.

"Let me warn you now Miss May Ella," I said as I continued to wrap and lightly tug the cloth around her open palm, "If I make this too tight don't go pullin' your gun on me. My hands aren't as pretty and soft as yours…they might make it too tight for ya." We both smiled, even laughin', as I continued to tend to the lil' gal.

"Tennessee," her voice cut through the silence after a while, "Can I ask you somethin'?" I looked up at May Ella. Her sudden use of my first name, instead of just Kid, told me that there was somethin' serious on her mind.

"Yes'm, anything you want." I told her as I finished tyin' off her bandage and gave her back her paw. She swallowed hard, looking down briefly before meeting my look once more.

"You seen that new sheriff that's around here?" I nodded, wonderin' why she'd be askin' about the sheriff of all things.

"You mean Toothpick? I've seen him around but haven't paid too much attention to him." She nodded slowly, turnin' sideways to grab the two glasses and whiskey from the counter beside her. She poured the liquor almost to the top of the glasses before slidin' one of them to me.

"He's got a bounty on me, Tennessee." I took the glass she had slid towards me and took a sip from it.

"I noticed the flyers were bein' put up this mornin'," I told her, "You worried about 'em?" she nodded, holding her glass tightly in her paws.

"Now you know just as well as I do that I've had more than plenty bounties put on me before," she said as she turned to fully face me, "but I ain't never had one that's worth eight hundred dollars if someone brings me in dead or alive." I placed my glass down on the bar and took the one from May Ella's paws as well. After placin' it on the counter beside mine, I took her paws in my own, holdin' them securely before lookin' at her worried face.

"You don't need to worry about that bounty. You're the fastest shooter in these parts and there ain't a doubt in my mind that you can outsmart every one of these guards and Old Toothpick himself. And I'm givin' you my word right now," I said as I took a tighter grip on her paws, "As long as I'm around, I'm not goin' to let anything or anyone hurt you." I took a stray strand of her soft yellow hair and tucked it away behind her ear.

May Ella pressed her cheek to my palm as I started to bring it down, holding my paw between her cheek and shoulder as a small smile formed on her lips. Placin' my other paw on her opposite cheek, I straightened her head. I looked into her eyes and I found that our heads were comin' closer and closer to together slowly. When May Ella's big, sky blues eyes started to close, I knew what was happenin' and mine started to close as well. We both felt a tingle go through our bodies as our lips touched and stayed. Her delicate paws latched onto my shoulders as we shared our kiss; neither of us wantin' to part or to allow this blissful, passionate moment to ever end…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Nice shootin' Carmelita!" I called out to the fox after the sound of her last bullet snapped me from my thoughts once again. The cross fire had stopped and we'd finally made it to our first stop.

"How about less sweet talk and more action?" she growled as I steered the boat to the dock. From here, we'd have to do a bit of climbin' to reach the switch that would lift the bridge and allow us to continue on our journey up the river. I leapt from the boat, landin' on the dock itself. There was a path that would be easy for me to follow and make my way to the top. How Miss Carmelita was going to get up was another question.

"Tennessee, looks like you'll have to go on ahead. I'll find another way there." I nodded and started climbin'. I made my way around a water churn and started from there. I held my gun tightly, knowin' that when I got to the top there would certainly be more gunfire. As I climbed, it again made me start to think about Miss May Ella. Gunfire was the reason I would never see her again, or anyone else would for that matter.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I sat in the chair next to the window. On Sunday mornin's, like today, I normally ate my breakfast at the local restaurant in town before I planned my next heist. I sat alone at my table, enjoyin' the hot break fast of home and home fries before I even attempted to think up a plan for today. At first I thought that I would just take this day off and relax…not do anythin' really. But then I decided against it when I realized that every time I had free time on my paws I always landed in more hot water than I would have if I had actually planned to do somethin'. And so, that's how I came to the conclusion that I would go around town and take down all of those bounties that the sheriff had place on May Ella's pretty little head. The way I figured it was that the less time someone saw her wanted posters scattered all over town, the better change she had of keepin' a bullet from hittin' her.

After a short while I heard the undeniable step of women's dress shoes hit the old wooden ply boards of the restaurant over and over again. I only looked up to see who had been makin' the noise when a plate had been placed on the table in front of me and someone had decided to eat breakfast with me. With a surprised look a smile, I welcomed Miss May Ella to take the seat she had already claimed as her own and join me. She did so without hesitation, fixin' the bottom of her dress before sittin; in the chair underneath her.

"Hoowee Miss May Ella," I said once she had gotten comfortable, "I do recon that you shine up nice and bright better than a new penny. Now what in the name of Sam Hill has gotten you all dressed up this mornin'?" she giggled softly, blushin' just a little, and picked up a fork.

"Can't a lady decide to wear a dress when she pleases, Kid?" she asked and she pushed up her sleeves a bit. I laughed, noddin' my head as I did so.

"A lady such as yourself can wear whatever makes you feel as pretty as you look, Miss May Ella." She blushed harder, smilin' as she looked to her breakfast.

"The sheriff still got a bounty on you?" she nodded, sighin' as she placed her arms on the table and looked at me intently with her big, blue eyes.

"He does," she said after a moment's silence, "and that's what I came to talk to ya about, Tennessee." I gave her a curious look.

"Ma'am?" May Ella always had a way of catchin' me off guard, but this was just out of the blue.

"I wanted to talk to you about that bounty. I'm wanted dead or alive, Tennessee, and we both know that it's goin' to happen sooner or later. And if and when it does, I want to have some kind of plan in mind. Now, if I'm caught and I'm brought in alive, it'll be easier. I know that I'll get life in the slammer and I ain't gettin' out. However, if I'm brought in dead, that's where I need your help."

"My help? Miss May Ella," I reached across the table and took her paw in my own, "I don't think you need to be considerin' all this. You haven't been caught in your life."

"I know, but I'm the type of gal that likes to have a back up plan just in case. But I need your help in order for this plan to actually work. If I'm brought in dead then I know that that crooked sheriff ain't goin' to do a good job of makin' sure I get in the ground properly. And I know that this is goin' to be a weird request for ya to do, but I ain't got no family, Tennessee. With Daddy already cold in the ground and Momma in the looney bin back in Virginia…I want to ask if you'll make sure I get myself a proper burial. And I'm askin' you Tennessee because I trust you more-n anyone. Would you do that for me?" she was serious, very, very serious. I placed my other paw over the two of her and squeezed them firmly.

"Only for you, Miss May Ella, only for you." She smiled, relief coming over her face. She stood, still holdin' on to my paws.

"Thank ya, Tennessee." I chuckled, pattin' the top of her delicate fingers, and I nodded.

Our brief moment of sincerity was short lived, however. May Ella and I both ducked, hitting the floor with a thud as a round of bullets entered through the window. Glass shattered and landed all over the floor and the two of us. Grabbin' my shotgun from the floor next to me, I sat up shortly and fired back. A group of coyotes stood on the other side of the street, firin' away into the restaurant. I could only assume they'd seen May Ella in the window and we're tryin' to take out the bounty that was placed on her head. I felt her grab at my belt, snatching out the pistol I kept there in case of an emergency, and held it up next to my gun. May Ella was quite the shooter; in a matter of about ten seconds she'd taken out two of the coyotes, a bullet for each. However, another six still remained and the cross fire remained hot. Every time there was a brief pause from the attackers, May Ella and I would come up for a few brief seconds, fire out of the nearly destroyed window, and then go back down. The constant and never ceasin' sound of bullet after bullet being fired and shootin' past our heads was the only thing we heard for a long time. It was May Ella who was the last to fire and with her final shot she took down the last coyote. Both of us dropped our guns once everythin' was said and done. May Ella shooted back and rested against the back wall as I stood, over lookin' the streets. Eight coyotes and onlookers were in the streets, tryin' to sort out the commotion that had just happened.

"T-Tennessee!" May Ella souted towards me, her voice shaky and crackin' a bit. I turned to her and I saw why she sounded so afraid. She clutched a paw to her stomach, her dress already soaked in a thick, dark red and quickly spreadin' to new fabric. May Ella had been shot. I was by her side in an instant; already startin' to get her to lay flat by the time it dawned on me to call from the down doctor.

"Miss Sally!" I shouted at the restaurant owner, "Get doc! And hurry!" the old owl hooted and scurried from the front of the store and out the door. I ripped my handkerchief from my neck and moved May Ella's paw from her lower abdomen.

"Now Miss May Ella don't you worry," I told her softly as I pressed the handkerchief to her wound, "Miss Sally went to get doc and once he gets here he's goin' to get you back to normal." She was shaky, probably from bein' scared than the actually bullet hole in her.

"You remember what I just told you, don't you Tennessee? Just do me a favor and make sure it's some place with grass…I don't wanna be buried in just sand and dirt." I made her press her paw over the handkerchief and I cupped her face with my paws.

"Don't talk like that. You're goin' to be alright. I promised you that I wasn't goin' to let nothin' bad happen to ya. And I ain't breakin' that promise to you. I love ya too much to let anything like that happen." I kissed her forehead, feelin' her shake underneath me. I kissed from her forehead, over her eye, down her cheek and muzzle and kept going until I reached her lips. They shook as well, scared of what was goin' to happen. I stayed hunched partly over her, talkin' softly to her, kissin' her lips and face, waitin' for the doctor…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

May Ella had died on the floor of the restaurant before the doctor had even gotten word that he was needed. I lost the most important thing to me that night and nothin' was the same since then. Although it had been over a year, I still expected to see May Ella show up on one of my heists and beat me to the goal. I would give anythin' for that to happen again; even if it was just once. I sighed heavily with my back pressed to the side of a crate that was on a ledge. My finger ran over the trigger of my gun, waitin' for the right time to advance forward. I was stuck on a ledge, forced to have a shoot out with the guards in order to get to the switch that I needed to pull in order for Miss Carmelita and I to advance forward. A pack of coyotes stood between me and that switch. Takin' a deep breath I cocked my gun, standing up straight, ready to fire.

"This is for you Miss May Ella," I said as I came around the corner, firin' and the coyotes in front of me, "Only for you."


End file.
